Books Made Awesome

FAQ

FAQ – COVER DESIGN

First, visit the packages page of click on the packages link at the top of this page and decide whether you would like an ebook cover only or a print cover (which includes an ebook cover as well). You will be directed to a briefing form which you will be required to complete. This form asks all the questions that I require answers to in order to design your cover, including the title, genre and key elements of the story, etc. There are also options for cover and formatting combinations if you need the book interior layout completed as well. After you have completed this form, you will be directed to a payment page, where you will need to click through to pay a 50% deposit through Paypal.com.

What happens once I’ve submitted the briefing form?

Once the form has been completed, and the deposit paid, we normally have everything we need to get started, but if not, we will e-mail you with questions. Within a few days, which may vary depending on current workload, we will send you at least 2 draft cover options based on your briefing form answers.

Once you have reviewed the draft covers, you would send us your feedback and comments on those covers. In most cases, one of those covers will be close enough to your vision that we can move forward with amendments and tweaks to that draft cover, until you’re 100% happy.

What if I don’t like the first drafts?

If you’re not at all happy with any of the drafts, or feel that neither option is suitable to be worked on further, we will come up with at least one more draft, based on further information from you. Then, we will move forward with amendments or changes to that cover until you’re happy with the final product. In almost all cases, this will get us to a final cover design for your book. If necessary, though, we will provide a few more draft options until you’re satisfied.

What if I’m unhappy with the process or the result and want to cancel?

If, at any point, you (or we) cannot agree on a suitable final cover design, or you (or we) are not happy with the process or result, we will completely refund the deposit paid.

What happens once I’m happy with the cover?

Once you’re 100% happy with the latest draft, I will send you the invoice for the 50% balance through Paypal. Once that invoice is paid, I will send you the final high-res file ready for use. If a print cover, I will send the file as a print-ready PDF, ready to upload to Createspace, Lightning Source or any other printer. If an ebook cover, I will send the final files as a high-res Jpeg at 1600 x 2500 pixels (Amazon’s recommended size). I will also send a 3D rendering of the cover for your marketing purposes. I will also accommodate any other sizes you may require for different distributors or resellers.

How much does it cost to design a cover?

All cover design prices can be found by clicking on the packages heading

What am I paying for?

The cover design fee includes the design fee for the final cover, all royalty-free images used for the cover (provided we were able to source them from Shutterstock.com), and any and all rights to use the cover in any format you want (subject to Shutterstock.com’s terms and conditions*). The fee also include a 3D rendering of your cover on a transparent background. There are no further payments due after the 50% balance is paid.

Can I supply an image for the cover?

Yes, you can. However, the image needs to be of a high enough resolution to use (at least 300dpi at 6″ x 9″), and the author must own the rights to use the image. Supplying the image doesn’t affect the cover design fee.

What does the fee NOT include?

The design fee does NOT include the rights to any of the draft covers or designs that were provided before you selected your final cover.

The design does NOT include specific character creation. If you’re looking for a specific type of person/character in a particular pose, and if this image is not available on Shutterstock in that form, then this “character” may need to be created as a composite of many royalty-free images. In this case, there will be a separate fee for this, and will be quote for separately (an example of character creation: a blond guy with green eyes holding a sword in the air in one hand and a rose in the other hand)

Can I pay for one cover and use the 2 drafts for two separate covers?

No, the cover design fee is for the design of one final cover only. If you would like to use an earlier draft for a different cover, an additional fee will apply (starting from 50% of the normal cover design price).

Yes you can, the ebook cover is initially designed in a resolution which is suitable for print. This means that should you want to “convert” your ebook cover to a print cover at a later date, there won’t be any resolution problems. The cost for this is $100 (or the difference between the ebook package and print package).

FAQ – FORMATTING

How long will my formatting / layout take?

Once we have your final version and you have submitted your order online we will have your first draft to you within 14 days.

What if I don’t have my manuscript in a word document?

You can supply your manuscript as a PDF, ODT, RTF or inDesign file. In fact, we’ve never come across a format that we can’t use. Having said that, we do prefer a word file.

What if my manuscript is still in draft phase?

It will be necessary to have a final manuscript before we start the formatting.

Will you be able to work on our cover at the same time as the formatting?

Yes, our cover design department will gladly assist you with cover design while we work on your layout.

Do you follow the ePub standard when creating the ePub file?

Yes, we make sure that the retailers that you will be selling through will accept the format of file that you will be provided with.

Will you provide me with an ISBN number?

No, it is important that the author or publisher provides the ISBN. If you don’t have an ISBN you can purchase them at www.ISBN.org. If you are printing through Create Space they can supply you with a ISBN for your print version. You can get this process started while we get your print formatting done.

What file types will you provide me with?

If you order eBook formatting you will be given a .mobi file, which is for kindle, and a ePub file which can be used on all other ebook devices.

If you order Print Book formatting you will be given a PDF which follows the standards required by Create Space. These standards will work for most other printers. If there are any other specifics that are required for the PDF export it can be requested in the order process.

I’m not printing through one of the big online printers and am using a local printer close to me, will your files still work if I go this route?

Absolutely, we follow industry standard methods and techniques when setting up the files to ensure best quality and ease of use.

What if I have some corrections to my text after the formatting is done?

We understand that there are times when new corrections are identified after the layout has been completed, or is busy being done. We can certainly do edits to your manuscript and would require our Edit Control Document (supplied by us) to be completed with all edit information. These edits will be charged at a cost of $1 per edit as well as $15 per edit round. We also understand that many proofreaders and editors can miss things from time to time so we do offer a grace edits round so long as the edits fall under 10 word edits.

I have a number of text boxes, graphs, tables and images. Can you help with these?

Yes, we can insert all these elements into your book for an additional fee.

I would like to have some decorative elements in my book.

We love adding décor to books as we feel that it brings the pages to life. We can do so for an additional charge of $50 per format (ebook and print)

My book requires indexing. Is that possible?

We charge $200 for indexing of word items in your book. This is subject to reviewing your manuscript.

Can I speak to a real person?

I am based in South Africa, so telephone conversations are tricky, however I am available on Skype (Damon.Za). Please e-mail me if you would like to setup a Skype conversation – my normal available hours are 6pm to 11pm (GMT: Greenwich Mean Time)

Do you offer discounts for bulk orders or other guaranteed relationships?

Please contact me at damonza@damonza.com. In most cases, I do not offer discounts, although all proposals will be considered.

* Shutterstock.com allows unlimited usage of their royalty-free images up to 250,000 copies. If you would like to use the cover/images in unlimited quantities, an enhanced licence will be required, which is approximately $100 per image. For more information, please click here.

"When I signed with Atria Books, I was thrilled but not surprised that they agreed to use Damon's design for the Walking Disaster cover. I also asked Damon to redesign my Providence cover. When I asked Damon to put his own spin on the original idea, once again he blew me away with his first attempt. Damon is my go-to for professional cover design. I wish I'd used him from the beginning!"

Jamie McGuire

We cannot thank you enough about your phenomenal work on The Big Decision book - the cover is breathtaking and moving and the text has been impeccably formatted for both the paper and EReader versions. Beyond the product you helped us to produce, was the joy of working with you both. This has been the best professional service we have ever experienced. You went above and beyond what promised and exceeded our high expectations. We would enthusiastically provide anyone who is considering working with you with our very highest recommendation. Working with you would be a SuperSmart thing to do :)!

Daniel Friedland, MD

Mother of Mercy made it onto the list of Top 100 Thrillers in the Amazon UK Kindle Store - the paid list, not the free one - in it's first month!I'd like to think that this has something to do with the quality of the writing, but I know that it certainly has something to do with the quality of the cover and the formatting - because people have repeatedly commented on both.I wanted to share this news with the two of you, and thank you both for helping to make this possible.

Tim Tavis

Damon is a master of combining color and art to give a book cover that 'wow' factor. He is a genius at putting together an eye-catching cover that draws your interest and leaves you wanting to know more about the story. I was amazed at how fast he got the first drafts to me and how great he is to work with. I won't trust my next book covers to anyone else.

Colleen Helme

Damon, The cover you designed for my debut novel, THE LEOPARD VANGUARD, exceeded my expectations. I can't tell you how much praise I've been getting about it. Add to that your professionalism and you've got one satisfied client. Looking forward to working with you on the next book cover.

T.A. Uner

My Publisher and I are extremely happy with Damonza. They have exceeded our expectations! So, what to say about these guys, other than it really was a very nice experience and a huge pleasure to work with them! Very professional, patient and amazing talents... Damon is most definitely the Ultimate cover designer and as far as layout and formatting is concerned, there is only one word to describe Benjamin and his work: Awesome! Needless to say that I will surely trust my next book to them once again and encourage fellow authors to do the same. Thank you Damonza!

Mario Routi

I just got my book proofs today from CreateSpace, and I could not be happier!!!! They are awesome. So professional looking! I wish I'd found you first, before wasting time and money using second string. You hit all three covers out of the park. Definitely worth every penny. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Linda Cousine

I greatly enjoyed working with Damon to create the cover of my book, "Innocent in Las Vegas". The results speak for themselves! Not only am I impressed by Damonza's creative vision, I've received many comments from readers who admitted that they bought the book because of the cute cover. If you're interested in having a cover that reflects the tone and theme of your story, and that sucks in potential readers, you can't go wrong by hiring Damonza.

AR Winters

Thank you for my beautiful cover for Adore, I absolutely love it. You completely filled the brief and it was a pleasure to work with you. Your creative talents are just a very small part of your professionalism. Being new to the publishing industry I have a lot to learn but you were at all times informative and helpful offering insightful information. I will be using your service for all of the covers of my upcoming books as I simply don't see how any other company could ever top your creative talents and high quality work ethic. Thank you so much. You have made what I thought was going to be the hard part of this process, actually the easiest part.

TL Swan

The cover designers at Damonza.com have been amazing, providing as many revisions as it took for me to be entirely happy with my covers. For a long time I've wanted to give the Lansin Island Series a professional look, but I was hesitant about spending the money. Now that I've seen my new covers and held the paperbacks in my hands, I'm really glad I saved up the money to do it. In terms of customer service, the people at Damonza.com were great--always polite, responsive, and willing to go the extra mile. I'll definitely be hiring them for my future covers. As a side note, it may be too early to judge, but after uploading the new covers yesterday, my book downloads have already spiked over night! Thank you Damonza.com for all the hard work.